Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in Sociology

Department

Sociology and Anthropology

First Advisor

John J. Green

Second Advisor

Jeffrey Jackson

Third Advisor

Kirsten Dellinger

Relational Format

dissertation/thesis

Abstract

Mississippi often has some of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections in the country. To combat this, the state uses abstinence-based sexual education in an attempt to discourage young people from having sex. I conducted 27 interviews and one focus group to talk with young men in the Mississippi Delta about their opinions on birth control. Using the social ecological model and self-efficacy framework, this thesis considers the influences on young men that shape their attitudes and behaviors regarding sexual health topics such as birth control. Primary findings include their learning from teachers, parents, and peers, coupled with a general mistrust of their female partners and female birth control methods. Additionally, young men seemed very confident in their perceived sexual self-efficacy, yet they demonstrated limited knowledge, and they expressed a desire to learn more about sexual health.

Included in

Sociology Commons

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